Hotel contracts
Thousands of hotel contracts in dozens of countries, each with its own clauses
Hotel contracting adapted to each market: net rates, allotments and release, cancellation, content and negotiation with chains.
Lawyers for bedbanks and accommodation wholesalers
15+ years advising travel distribution businesses. Legal and tax advice for bedbanks: hotel contracting, B2B distribution, competition, bad debts, data, VAT and international tax.
Distribution contracts
Your B2B clients resell your inventory wherever and however they like
Contracts with OTAs, tour operators and travel agencies: authorised channels, use of rates and content, credit and payment guarantees.
Parity and competition
Chains ask you for parity and you need competitive prices
We review parity, opaque rates and channel restrictions in light of each market’s competition law.
Liability for bookings
Overbooking, hotel closures and rate errors: the client claims against you
We align your hotel and client contracts: relocation, compensation, force majeure and claim deadlines.
Bad debts and credit
You extend credit to hundreds of agencies and not all of them pay
Credit terms, guarantees, debt recovery and action when a client becomes insolvent.
Data protection (GDPR)
Guest data travelling between your clients, your platform and thousands of hotels
Each party’s GDPR role, processing agreements and international transfers to hotels and clients outside the EU.
VAT and REAV
You buy and sell accommodation in dozens of countries: where is each night taxed?
VAT on hotel resale and intermediation: REAV, accommodation as a service connected with immovable property and international invoicing.
International tax
Subsidiaries in several countries, payments to hotels and receipts in many currencies
Permanent establishment, transfer pricing between subsidiaries, withholding taxes and, where applicable, Digital Services Tax.
Coordinated legal and tax advice for bedbanks, from the hotel contract to the client invoice
How we work with bedbanks
We know bedbanks from the inside
Borja Rivas, our founding partner, spent 11 years in the legal team at Hotelbeds (now HBX Group), the last 4 as legal lead for MEAPAC. We know how a hotel is contracted, how a net rate is distributed and what happens when something goes wrong.
One-off review
A contract with a chain, your distribution terms or a VAT question in a new market.
Fixed-scope project
Hotel contracting and distribution templates, a GDPR audit or an international tax model.
In-house legal team
We work as your legal department: with contracting, sales and finance, all year round.
“Borja and the Mylegalinbox team have proven to be invaluable legal partners for us. As a company operating globally, their international experience and outlook have ensured that we not only remain legally compliant across multiple jurisdictions, but that we do so in the most efficient and cost-effective way possible. Highly recommended!”
Gareth MathewsCMO, DidaTravel
Common legal and tax questions for a bedbank
Which clauses are key in a contract between a bedbank and a hotel?
Net rates and their confidentiality, allotments and release periods, the cancellation policy, parity or channel restrictions, liability for overbooking and relocation, payments and use of the hotel’s content. How they are drafted determines who bears each risk.
Can a hotel chain impose price parity on a bedbank?
Parity clauses can restrict competition, and competition authorities have examined them in the hotel sector. Their validity depends on their scope, the market position of the parties and each country’s rules, so they should be reviewed case by case.
Which VAT scheme applies to a bedbank in Spain?
It depends on whether it buys and resells the accommodation in its own name or acts as an intermediary. For resale in its own name, the special VAT scheme for travel agencies (REAV) may apply, with the option of the general scheme for certain transactions with businesses. Accommodation, as a service connected with immovable property, is deemed to be supplied where the hotel is located.
Who is liable to the client if the hotel fails to perform?
The bedbank is usually liable to its B2B client, under its contract, and may then seek recourse against the hotel if this was agreed. That is why the contracts on both sides must be aligned on relocation, compensation, force majeure and claim deadlines.
Do you advise bedbanks based outside Spain?
Yes. We have clients in Europe, North America, Latin America, the Middle East and Asia-Pacific. We negotiate multi-jurisdictional contracts and coordinate with local lawyers where each country’s rules require it.
If I charge the supplier a commission instead of a margin, am I a travel agency?
How you get paid is not decisive on its own. What matters is what you sell, in whose name you contract with the traveller and whether you combine services. Charging a commission fits with acting as an intermediary, but if you organise or sell packages, or your region reserves travel intermediation to travel agencies, you will still need to be one.
Tell us how your bedbank works
30 minutes with the team to review risks and priorities.
Or, if you prefer, email us and we’ll get back to you.
information@mylegalinbox.com